Through a glass darkly

Short-toed Lark at Fleetwood Marsh

Warm April continues, although my own birding opportunities have been a bit limited, but the month began with a fine trip through North Wales with Andy and Bones that included Black Grouse lekking, dozens of Crossbills and Redpolls, a Purple Heron and some Choughs. A couple of visits to Marshside had been relatively disappointing as it’s starting to feel a bit like an Avocet petting zoo at times, and on Easter Monday, despite an early start and plenty of Reed and Sedge Warblers, the lack of Wheatears and anything else of note in and around the old sandplant caused the three of us to jump back in Andy’s car and head once again for the Fylde. The roads were clear early on, and it took less than forty minutes to catch up with a Lancs-first Short-toed Lark. The video’s pretty grim, given the heat-haze and my general indifference to getting it right, but it’s a nice record.

At Hesketh Out Marsh on the way back Whinchat, White Wagtails, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Willow Warbler, and then back to Marshside for, er, nothing else.

April 25, 2011 - Posted by Simon Glinn | Lancashire, Video